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Deformed Rats
The Deformed Rats are a series of rats featured in the game Layers of Fear. Although not physically seen in the game, drawings of them are found throughout the game. If these strange rats were to be real, how would they fare in a life after people? Timeline 3 days Much like the head lice, various species of the deformed rats that relied on humans and their structures to keep going, consisting of the Vermin Groth, the Body Burrowers, the Prosthesis Snatchers, the Minced Mice, the Floor Creepers, the Canvas Crawlers, the Screeching Arsonists, and the Haunting Mimics join humans in extinction. 70 years Although they managed to get by just fine for a time, two more species of the deformed rats, being the Dust Mice, and the Rodent Seeds go extinct for various reasons. For the Dust Mice, they went extinct due to the fact that they thrived in environments that had available entrances and exits, and had dust for the ages, serving as their camouflage. Eventually, these environments became non-existent, leaving these rats exposed to predators. For the Rodent Seeds, they went extinct as a byproduct of their behavior, eating the roots of plants to sustain themselves. Eventually, one thing led to another, eliminating all other herbivores from the area their population inhabited. Then, one huge disease killed them all off. 120 million years The six species of deformed rats that survived have evolved into a variety of forms. Dangling Dread The Dangling Dread rats have prehensile tails, allowing them to hang onto ceiling supports, branches, and even stalactites if they have the chance. Being patient predators has served them well in a life after people, and they have evolved into large, predatory mammals. Now endemic to parts of Eurafrica and the rainforest that was once China and the Korean Peninsula, they have changed in size from being slightly larger than brown rats to beasts as large as gorillas. This has effectively developed a new genus, being called Hominiurinae. Their front limbs are muscular, and their paws have developed opposable thumbs used for gripping onto large animals which they feed on as well as tools. The ends of their thick, long tails has developed a large pad similar to the ones found on the feet of geckos, and they use this to grip onto tree branches thick enough to support their weight. The only things left of their back legs are small bones near the filled leg sockets of their pelvises about two millimeters long. Their intelligence rivals that of early humans, and they have a culture, scratching ornamental patterns and shapes into pieces with tools made of sharp rocks and sticks. They have already discovered fire, and judging by their culture, they seem to believe that fire was a long-forgotten gift from their ancestors, who are the first living things to ever walk the earth. Plague Breeders The Plague Breeders survived this far into the future due to their high birth rates and general birthing method looking similar to that of the Suriname toad. They first lay leathery eggs, and the male buries them in the female's thick fur. After a few months, the eggs hatch and the babies stay with the mother for six more months until sexual maturity. Endemic to all of the Austral-Antarctic subcontinent, the Plague Breeders have become semi-aquatic rhinoceros-sized beasts of the genus Castomphibiae. They have a body similar to that of a hippopotamus and haves three-toed webbed feet, but they still have fur, their breeding method, and their heads are more like those of horses. They have bat-like ears, which can shut tightly in order to keep water out. Their tails have rudder-shaped structures on the end, and this helps them steer while swimming and maintain their position in the water. In Dangling Dread culture, they are held with as much significance as cattle in Indian culture, as they believe them to be direct descendants of their goddess of fertility. Flapping Horrors The Flapping Horrors survived this long into the future due to an extinction event which wiped out most large predatory birds, leaving a lot of empty room left for species to fill in. With time, they spread across the world and evolved from small nocturnal predators designed to specifically feast upon things its size to cathemeral flying mammals. This evolution has formed a new genus called Pseudoaccipitridae, has hundreds of species, and consists mainly of the descendants of the Flapping Horrors. Species in this genus range in size from being about as large as some songbirds to being as large as certain Pterosaurs. On the ground, they walk around clumsily as their wing fingers have not yet evolved to bend farther than 10°. Species in this genus also vary in diet, with the largest members of this genus feed strictly on saltwater organisms, and the smallest are voracious carrion feeders, swarming to corpses by the hundreds. Some of these species have also developed a beak of sorts, which naturally evolved from the hallmark of rodents, being the large incisors. In Dangling Dread culture, the carrion-feeding second-to-largest member of this genus holds a high religious significance, and corpses of dead Dangling Dread rats are actually placed in empty fields in order for the Flapping Horrors to feast upon it. Although the Tibetans from the time of man believed that this was an act of generosity on the part of the deceased, the descendants of the Dangling Dread rats believe that this is the only way for members of their species can get into heaven. Silent Floaters The ecological upheaval of the world's waters over the past 120 million years has caused a reshuffling of various niches, and the freshwater dwelling Silent Floaters have become saltwater dwellers. Evolving to fill the niche left behind by some species of dolphins, the Silent Floaters have formed a new genus, which is named Nordicetacea. Species in this genus range in size from being as large as a Maui's dolphin to as large as a double-decker bus. They have also evolved baleen-like teeth, which allows them to subsist primarily on the ocean's bounty of plankton. Most of them have very little fur if any at all, and any fur that does remain is localized around the dorsal fin. Certain species have chisel-like teeth instead of baleen, and these species usually live in saltwater rivers that are plentiful in terms of fish. They also vary in color, but are usually brown, black, grey, white, or pink in color, but red and yellow-skinned Silent Floaters are known to exist. These two odd colors are usually the result of a genetic defect. In Dangling Dread culture, Silent Floaters are regarded as bringers of good fortune. To them, a beached Silent Floater is considered an ill omen for a disaster of sorts, being famine, disease, natural disasters, or warfare. Each beached color means a different disaster, with yellow and red bringing the worst types of disasters. Lice Mice The Lice Mice just barely survived this far into the future, with the 32 remaining individuals moving their diet from strictly hair to grass. These survivors soon repopulated and their numbers recovered, and they steadily evolved to suit their new lifestyle. Now forming a new genus, named Polluxodontia, the Lice Mice have transformed into low-browsing herbivores that seem to be the reincarnation of the Josephoartigasia genus, previously driven to extinction by natural causes. They are endemic to the Americas and certain parts of Eurafrica. The largest members of the Polluxodontia genus are endemic to the Americas, but medium-sized members of this genus live in Eurafrica. Being as large as some cattle, members of the Polluxodontia genus have hooved feet, a hallmark of the ungulates, which are now just barely hanging onto life due to several environmental factors. Feeding strictly on grass, they have long since abandoned yanking out plants and hair by the roots and now graze lazily over large stretches of land. As they often strip whole fields bare of small plant life, Dangling Dread tribes in Eurafrica regard them as dangerous and give them as wide of a berth as they possibly can. They also regard fields which are prone to their grazing as cursed and rarely ever set up permanent settlements near these fields. Fluffy Fakers In response to plushes and similar toys rotting away into nothingness, the Fluffy Fakers gradually moved out of houses and changed their hunting habits. During the ecological upheaval during the 120 million years they spent on the planet, they slowly took over a certain niche and have held it ever since. Endemic to the Americas, the Fluffy Fakers have formed a new genus called Fabuliteralis. Appearance-wise, they have barely changed. However, they have become fearsome, bear-sized ambush predators that can lie in wait in the cover of darkness for hours at a time, waiting for prey to come along. They are the primary predators of the American Lice Mice, though they can also get by on smaller animals. When large prey draws near, A Fluffy Faker lying in wait jumps out of its cover and kills its prey with a swift bite to the neck, breaking it and killing prey instantly. As they live in the Americas, the Dangling Dread rats have not yet discovered them. However, once they do, they would without a shadow of a doubt be feared. Category:Fiction Category:Fictional Species Category:Animals Category:Animal Species Category:Wild Animals Category:Animals That Survived Without Humans